Good news comes o’er the sea,
And tells of vic­to­ry there;
The hea­then bow the knee,
In hum­ble, fer­vent pray­er;
Long wait­ed we to hear
The glo­ri­ous tid­ings come,
Proclaiming vic­to­ry there,
Where dark­ness reigned alone.

Refrain

Rejoice, rejoice,
Good news comes o’er the sea;
Rejoice, rejoice,
Good news comes o’er the sea;

The glo­ri­ous Gos­pel light,
In splen­dor shines to­day,
Where naught but dark­est night
Fell on the hea­then’s way.
Brave Christ­ians heard the cry
That came across the sea,
“Come, help us, ere we die,
Come, help us to be free.”

Refrain

They bade adieu to home,
To friends and loved ones dear;
They crossed the ocean’s foam,
They land­ed safe­ly there.
They raised the ban­ner bright
On Afric’s hos­tile shore,
The hea­then saw a light,
Where dark­ness reigned be­fore.

Refrain

Oh, see them com­ing home!
The poor, de­grad­ed race!
The Mas­ter bids them come
To seek His sav­ing grace.
At Je­sus’ feet they fall;
To Heav’n they lift their cry;
He hears their sim­ple call—
He saves them ere they die.

Refrain

Awake! the sun is high;
The Mas­ter’s call­ing you!
Why stand ye id­ly by?
There’s work for you to do!
Your trea­sures, pray­ers and tears,
Go, lay at Je­sus’ feet;
And soon we’ll sing the song
Of vic­to­ry com­plete.

Refrain